


The Best Type of Kidnapping

by JustAndrea



Series: Draxum and the Fam [3]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Breakfast, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Silly Arguments, with a bit of introspection on Draxum's part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Putting on his robe, Draxum went to the door. Opening it, he saw the faces of his turtles and O’Neil looking up at him. Blinking slowly, Draxum dryly asked them, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”Mikey grinned, far too awake and cheerful for how early it was. “We’re just here to kidnap you.”(In which Draxum gets dragged along for an impromptu, super-early family breakfast)
Relationships: Baron Draxum & Splinter (TMNT), Baron Draxum & The Turtles + April, Michelangelo (TMNT) & Baron Draxum
Series: Draxum and the Fam [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044981
Comments: 7
Kudos: 135





	The Best Type of Kidnapping

**Author's Note:**

> I had meant to get this written a week or so ago, since I wanted to post it before we were all destroyed by Battle Nexus: New York. Whoops. Ah well, enjoy the fluff!

Draxum groaned, his ears twitching a bit at the knocking. Opening one eye, he glanced over at the alarm clock he had been given the day before he began his job. The numbers read 3:52, a good while before he had to leave his apartment to go start serving a pre-packaged breakfast and prepping lunch for human teenagers.

There was another, much louder knock at his bedroom door, and Draxum groaned. Honestly, who on Earth wanted something from him at almost four in the-? 

Draxum paused, his sleepy mind waking up for him to realize that the knocking was on his bedroom door, not his apartment door. Whoever his guest was, they were already in his home, and unless they were the world’s stupidest thief, they likely weren’t an enemy.

So, putting on his robe, Draxum went to the door. Opening it, he saw the faces of his turtles and O’Neil looking up at him. Blinking slowly, Draxum dryly asked them, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Mikey grinned, far too awake and cheerful for how early it was. “We’re just here to kidnap you.”

“...” Maybe his brain was still asleep. “Kidnap me?” he repeated.

“Yep,” Mikey confirmed, his brothers and adopted sister nodding alongside him, “So come on, let’s get going!”

“I don’t- I have a shift later this morni-”

“Don’t sweat it, Draxy,” Leo told him, folding his arms back behind his head, “We’ll have you back here before you gotta get to school, promise.”

“But I’m still in my _pajamas_ ,” he argued, scowling a little now.

“Uhh, yeah? So are we,” Raph answered. Glancing down a bit, Draxum found that this fact was indeed true. While they were wearing hoodies to help cover their shells and heads, each of the Turtles was also obviously wearing pajama pants. As for O’Neil, she had pajama pants and a sweatshirt on, her normally poofy and curly hair carefully wrapped in a tight, yellow scarf.

“So yeah, no worries about what you’re wearing!” Mikey smiled, “As long as you’re not walkin’ around naked or anything, you’re good!”

“And to be fair, kidnapping victims don’t typically get to choose what they’re kidnapped in,” Donnie coolly added, earning a couple smirks from his siblings.

Draxum scoffed. Little brats... He wasn’t sure what sort of joke or prank this was, but he doubted that he had a choice in the matter. “Can I at least grab one thing? That is, unless you think humans won’t notice these-” he gestured to his floppy sheep ears.

“I mean, they might not,” Mikey shrugged, “Humans aren’t that observant sometimes, especially in the mornings. But yeah, you can still grab something for your head if you want.”

Draxum grunted a quick thank you and went back into his bedroom. Normally, he’d just wear a scarf or a simple wool hat to cover his ears until he was able to get his hairnet on. However, with the mornings being chilly lately, he decided to put on a hoodie as well, tying his hair up in a quick and messy bun before putting his hood up.

“Alright, let’s head out!” Mikey said, pointing forward with one hand and grabbing Draxum’s arm with the other. The others happily obliged, with Raph leading the way out of the apartment and down the stairs.

It was still fairly dark outside, though the sky was slowly beginning to lighten. Being a residential area, there weren’t as many lights on in the buildings, nor were there too many humans or mechanical carriages (or ‘vehicles’, as Donatello insisted he call them) out on the street either. It was... actually sort of peaceful. He took a deep breath, taking in the cool air before sighing it out.

Thinking back to his old life, Draxum could remember the mornings where instead of getting right into his work, he would actually take a morning walk around his small patch of land to help clear his head and wake him up. Being on the outskirts of the Hidden City, it had been pretty peaceful too - and even if Devil’s Backbone wasn’t the prettiest landscape to look at, it had still been nice.

Not even the light chatter from the teens leading the way or the beeping from Donnie’s devices could do much to bother him. When there was eventually a lull in the conversation, Draxum spoke up once more as they reached another street corner. “So, what exactly is the purpose of this so-called ‘kidnapping’?” he asked.

“Well, one of the nice things about living in a city that never really sleeps is that you’ve got plenty of places that are open twenty-four hours,” Mikey began, “Even so, they’re pretty deserted when it’s this early.”

“In other words, they make for the perfect spot where a few mutants and a yokai can just chill without gettin’ a lot of looks,” Raph explained, “Mike wanted to surprise you and take you out to eat somewhere, and he figured you’d be comfier in a place that wasn’t filled with humans.” His younger brother nodded in confirmation, grinning excitedly all the while.

“Besides,” Leo added, smiling a bit to himself, “the only thing better than a hot breakfast in your PJs is a hot breakfast that you don’t have to cook yourself.” 

Draxum, having lived off human cereal (tiny circles that were apparently supposed to be honey flavored) and the occasional baked good from Michelangelo for several weeks now, could definitely agree with that.

It only took a few minutes more for them to reach the diner. It was simple in design, both outside and in. Large windows with no curtains and a neon ‘24 HRS’ sign near the entrance revealed a space with light brown walls and filled with old, dark brown tables and chairs. 

From the front entrance, Draxum could see that the decor in the diner was simple. On the walls were a couple of framed paintings and photos that looked like they were from at least a few decades ago, and while the dining room itself felt very open, it didn’t feel uncomfortably empty despite their group being the only ones there. It helped that the lights in the room weren’t too harsh or bright, and were instead almost a warm yellow.

As they walked inside, Splinter waved them over to a table in the corner that was big enough for all seven of them. Despite insisting that he sleep in while they grabbed Draxum, he had still somehow managed to beat them there. Then again, their pop always had been pretty light on his feet whenever he wanted to be.

Draxum raised an eyebrow at the rat’s outfit. While he was in pajamas as well - wearing a pair of well-loved sweatpants and an old white tee shirt - he was also donning a brown jacket and... a backwards baseball cap? One that, frankly, did nothing to cover his rat ears.

“What?” Splinter huffed when he noticed the sheepman’s stare.

“Nothing,” Draxum grumbled as his creations and their friend took their seats at the table, “Just trying to figure out the reasoning for your headgear.” What was the point of wearing a cap if it wasn’t even properly shielding someone’s eyes from a sun that wasn’t even out yet? “Honestly, Lou, it doesn’t even match.”

“Hmph, clearly you know nothing about the fashion styles of completely normal and tooootally human, only slightly-hairy teens,” Splinter (or rather, ‘Randall’) retorted. Draxum held back a scoff. “Besides, it’s still more fashionable than a uniform,” he quietly added.

“ExCUSE you, my work uniform is a proud symbol of my lunchroom authority!” Draxum firmly argued as he crossed his arms.

“Uh huh... and the hairnet. Is that a ‘proud symbol’ too?”

“That’s more hygienic than symbolic, but still important. Would YOU want a mouthful of hair in your food? Not even the most aggravating of human teens deserve that.”

“Eh, fair enough.”

“Can we please not talk about finding hair in food before we eat breakfast?” Donnie asked, giving both his father and his creator a tired look. 

Putting their light banter aside for the moment, Draxum sat down and began looking over the laminated menu, translating the words from English into Yokai-ese in his head as he read through it. Not every dish had a familiar equivalent, but thanks to the gratuitous use of photos and decent-sized descriptions, it didn’t take much effort for him to understand what it was.

After a few minutes, their waitress - an older woman with glasses and her hair in long braids - came up to their table, offering a friendly greeting before asking for their drink orders. Splinter asked for a cup of whatever tea they had available while Draxum, April and Donnie each gave their preferred coffee orders. Raph and Mikey each ordered milk (white and chocolate, respectively) while Leon asked for his favorite sugary pop.

Before the waitress walked away, Splinter ordered an extra glass of water for his second-youngest son. “So you can still stay hydrated, and so you can at least pretend that you’re drinking something healthy that actually goes with breakfast.”

“Maaaan,” Leo grumbled, crossing his arms, “Coffee’s pretty much just as bad as pop, why am I the only that gets shamed?”

“Sooo, Draxum,” Mikey spoke up, putting on a serious look as he leaned in towards him, “Considering where we are, I think it’s time we see what kind of person you are, and ask you the REAL questions - the ones that really say just what kind of person you are...”

Only slightly unnerved but still just as curious, Draxum decided to follow the orange turtle’s prompting once again. “And just what sort of questions did you have in mind?” he asked

“The biggest breakfast question of them all...” Mikey narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, Baron Draxum... are you a waffle man, a pancake man or a French toast man?”

“Fair warning, Draxum,” Donnie said from across the table, not looking up from his phone, “There is only one right answer.”

“Yeah, and it’s NOT Donnie’s,” Raph told him, causing his purple sibling to gasp in fake offense.

“Why exactly does it matter?” Draxum asked, more confused by the question than annoyed, “What do breakfast preferences symbolize in human culture?”

“Eh, just a fun ‘getting to know you’ question,” Mikey shrugged, dropping his seriousness, “You can surprisingly tell a lot about a person from what kind of breakfasts they like. Soooooo?”

“Ugh, I don’t know,” he scoffed, “I haven’t had waffles or pancakes since I was a child, which was nearly several centuries ago.” Plus, who knew if the yokai-style waffles and pancakes were anything like human, New York style ones? 

No doubt they probably had different flavors and different styles of cooking them and other characteristics of each dish that would make them mostly unfamiliar to him. “And I’ve never had French Toast. I’ll probably just have this vegetable omelette here,” he said, pointing at the menu, “At least I know what I’m getting with that one.”

“Huh, so technically he’s siding with Dad in this breakfast debate,” Mikey pointed out.

“Oh joy,” Splinter flatly mumbled.

“Aw, come on Barry,” April smirked, “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

“Yeah, Mr. Warring Warrior Scientist,” Leo added with a grin, “why not experiment a little?”

“Experimentation IS one of the most important parts of science, and an important part of alchemy I’m sure,” Donnie pointed out.

Draxum growled, and sharpened his glare when said growls had no effect on them. “I’m not going to order something I’m not even sure I’ll like just to please you all and risk being hungry the rest of the morning if I don’t finish it!” he snapped.

“Ah. Yeah, I guess that’s fair,” Mikey admitted, deflating a little before perking back up, “But you _could_ try a bite of our breakfasts and use that to judge them and pick a favorite, riiiiight?”

“...I suppose,” Draxum quietly agreed, even if he was still sort of reluctant about it - something that if the orange turtle had picked up on, he promptly ignored.

“Great, it’s settled then!” Mikey then patted the Baron’s arm. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna love them! And if anything, this little ‘experiment’ is gonna make for an even better and even more filling breakfast!”

“And you’ll be thanking us when you find your new breakfast favorite,” Leo added, “Which will be pancakes. Because duh.” With that, he high-fived Donnie while Raph and April scoffed, rolling their eyes.

“Hmph, you guys make _think_ pancakes are better, but that’s just ‘cause you refuse to see how great waffles can be,” April countered.

“Uhh, says who?” Leon challenged, smirking back at her.

“Says US!” Raph said proudly, pointing his thumb at his chest. April gave a snort before doing the same gesture at herself.

“Yeah, says us - Team Waffles for life!”

“Ah yes, says the team who is clearly wrong,” Donnie replied, “Your incorrect assumption is acknowledged and pitied. You really should just accept that we’re right-”

“Nope. Nuh uh.” “Never gonna happen, Dee.”

Mikey chuckled. He’d heard this debate from his siblings plenty of times before, but thankfully it was an argument that was more amusing than annoying. It helped that he could totally understand being passionate about a favorite dish. “Don’t even think of tryin’ to convince me to switch sides.”

“Now _that_ really would be impossible,” Leo said, “Aaaand tee-bee-ef, French toast is pretty much my second choice, sooooo yeah.”

“Thank you, Leon.” “Why you gotta hurt your older siblings like this, Leo?”

“Are _all_ your breakfasts like this?” Draxum tiredly asked Splinter, who just shrugged, being far too used to mornings such as these.

“Pretty much, yeah. Welcome to the family, alchemist.”

“Ugh… Is this something you all do often then? Go out to eternally open restaurants for unreasonably early meals?”

“No way,” April shook her head, “You know how expensive it is to eat out in the city? And if I woke up this early every morning before going to school, my sleep schedule would be shot.” She thought for a moment, considering all of the all-night adventures she’d sometimes go on with the Turtles. “Well, even more shot, I guess.”

“The only place we really get a discount from is Run of the Mill,” Donnie added, still not looking up from his phone, “and Michael enjoys cooking at home anyway, so we tend to save eating out for special occasions.”

“Or for when the sewer raccoons get into our cabinets and eat all the good food,” Raph huffed, 

“Lousy, cute little thieves…” Splinter mumbled as Donnie nodded, replying with a “Right, that too.”

Draxum hummed slightly. A ‘special occasion’, huh? He supposed that, in a way, him joining in on a family meal was ‘special’, even if it was still rather ordinary all things considered. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he would ever understand the perspective of his terrapin creations or why they held so much value in the strangest of things. 

Though, perhaps it was just a ‘surface thing’, like how they apparently awarded lunchroom servers for their effectiveness, performance and skill up on the surface. ...That part was okay, Draxum silently decided.

The waitress soon returned with their drinks, and quickly took their orders. Draxum and Splinter got their omelettes (veggie and cheese, respectively), April and Raph each ordered a plate of waffles, the twins ordered pancakes (Leo’s chocolate chip while Donnie’s were plain) and finally, Mikey ordered his all-time favorite breakfast time dish: French toast.

“I understand what toast is,” Draxum mumbled, “But what exactly is French?” He had heard that word being used with the thin, potato sticks he sometimes served at lunch. “Do you put potato on the toast, or-?”

“You’ll see,” Mikey assured him with a bit of a smirk, leaving the explanation (or rather, lack there of) at that - much to the sheepman’s frustration. 

With a small huff, Draxum reluctantly let the question go and instead ended up glancing out the diner’s window, watching as the sky slowly shifted into a purplish tone, the subtle hints of sunlight beginning to snuff out the few stars that managed to shine through the city smog the previous night. 

The way the sky changed color reminded him so much of the Hidden City - even if they didn’t have a celestial source of light underground, the sky still became darker and lighter throughout the day, taking on different color pallets depending on where you were at in the city and what time it was. 

...It was sort of funny: His goals for so long were to reclaim the surface, yet he couldn’t help but miss the city that was built through his people’s hardships. The city that had been his home for nearly 500 years...

Something tapped his hoof, making him jolt slightly. Looking down, he spotted the tip of a rat’s tail just before it was pulled away. When he looked up to glare at Splinter, the rat just gestured to Draxum’s mug. 

...Right. Coffee was always terrible when it was cold. So, Draxum took a long sip, and let his thoughts float away like drifting clouds.

Now back in the present, he actually bothered listening to the conversations of his children and their friend (who at this point, Draxum pretty much accepted was their kin even if she had no biological connection to them). 

Currently, they were discussing video games - a subject Mikey had tried exposing Draxum to like he had with films and television, but the former baron had no interest in virtual battles. Still, a part of him was admittedly a bit curious about this ‘super-sonic hedgehog’ that Leonardo kept bringing up.

As they moved on from video games to discussing their plans for that day and that evening - with Raph trying to convince the others to have a Team Building night to no avail - an admittedly delicious smell from across the dining room quickly caught their attention, bringing their focus back to food.

“Bet you’re glad you came with us now, huh Barry?” Draxum heard April ask him as his stomach began to growl. The sheepman gave a huff, but didn’t deny her claim.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to suffer in hunger for too long. Within a few seconds, the waitress returned once more, dropping off their food before wishing them a good meal.

“Thanks!” Still remembering their little experiment, Mikey took Draxum’s plate before the sheepman could even get a good look at it. He then quickly moved his omelette as far over as he safely could. Once that was done, he, Donnie and Raph all cut off bite-sized portions of their meals.

As they did this, Draxum carefully examined each dish from his seat. As it turned out, human pancakes and waffles were fairly similar to yokai ones, at least in terms of look. The waffles were crunchy with little baked-in compartments while the pancakes were thin, slightly fluffy circles. In that sense, he could sort of get why Raphael and O’Neil could prefer a slightly more crunchy meal experience over a more ‘smooth’ one like Leonardo and Donatello seemed to prefer.

The only thing that was a mystery to Draxum was the French toast - a far cry from the toast he was used to. Instead of looking thin and crusty with a dollop of butter spread across, this toast was thick and extremely fluffy looking with some sort of powder sprinkled on top.

Once all the test bites were on Draxum’s plate, Mikey added a couple lines of syrup before passing it back to his creator. Draxum hummed curiously, taking a closer look at each piece. He then picked up his fork, hesitating for only a moment before stabbing it into the option that was first in line: the waffle.

Taking the bite, he got the sense of lightness as well as a bit of a crunch. Yep, definitely a bit more appealing to a snapping turtle. However, the waffle itself didn’t have much flavor, and the section of it that had been covered in syrup was now a bit chewier thanks to the condiment soaking into the waffle somewhat. All in all, Draxum couldn’t really call it a pleasant experience, even if it wasn’t a completely awful one either. More neutral than anything else, really.

With that, Draxum moved onto the next bite: the pancake. Just by looking at it, Draxum could see that it was much more dense than the waffle, almost like an actual cake. Upon actually tasting it, he could sense a bit more sweetness within it, though not much. Again, it was partially aided and partially hindered by the syrup, and while he liked it a bit more than the waffle, he still couldn’t really see what was so special about it that it would make two of his creations defend its honor.

Not having much hope for the third test, Draxum stabbed the bit of French toast, eating it without any hesitation or fanfare - and his eyes widened.

Like the waffle, it was light but not necessarily chewy. It was fluffy like the pancake, but more creamy than cakey. He tasted egg, but also bread and sugar, with the syrup adding just the right amount of maple flavor. The warm bite practically melted on his tongue, not too sweet or too plain. In a word, it was about as perfect as a human dish could get.

Draxum closed his eyes, letting the taste linger on his tongue before swallowing. “The French toast wins,” he said once his eyes were back open, “Absolutely no contest.”

While his siblings groaned, Mikey grinned in victory, even pumping his fists a bit. “Called it! I just _knew_ he’d like French toast the best!”

“Honestly I don’t know why the rest of this family doesn’t prefer it,” Draxum questioned before silently chalking it up to everyone having different tastes. Briefly, he was reminded of the pizza night they all tried to have a while back. He didn’t know how Splinter and April could turn their noses up at a Super Creepy Supreme pizza either, but it was their loss, he supposed.

With their little experiment over, everyone else went back to their meals before they could get too cold. Remembering what he had chosen, Draxum couldn’t help but frown as he began cutting up his omelette. He had tried to hide this newfound disappointment, but evidently he hadn’t managed to hide it well enough.

“You can have more if you want,” Mikey offered, already pushing his plate over - only to have Draxum firmly push it right back.

“I’m perfectly satisfied with my original breakfast choice,” Draxum insisted. He certainly wasn’t going to pout over not getting the food he wanted like some petulant child, and at least his egg dish would still be a good source of protein. “Besides, while you are certainly strong, you are still only in your second stage of development, meaning that missing out on necessary nutrition and too many calories could be detrimental for you in the long run.”

“...Wow,” Leo said, “He literally just went all ‘eat your food, you’re a growing boy’ on you.” Their siblings snickered, and Mikey stuck his tongue out at Leo, kicking him lightly under the table, only for the slider to give him a bit of a kick right back.

“Additionally, I still don’t exactly know what exactly French is,” Draxum added, “For all I know, you could be feeding me something disgusting that only tastes delicious.” 

A small smile was on his face as he said this, and while Mikey picked up on his creator’s joke, the passionate junior chef also had no problem explaining the ins and outs of the dish now that Draxum had actually tasted it (or explaining what France was), just as Draxum didn’t have much of a problem with listening to it as he ate.

While it couldn’t really hold a candle to the french toast, the vegetable omelette still ended up being quite filling and appealing. Combined with his coffee, it left Draxum feeling warm and satisfied, to the point where had it not been for the caffeine in his system, he might have called in sick just so he could spend the rest of the morning in bed relaxing.

As he leaned back in his chair, it struck him just how accustomed he was becoming to these ‘group meals’ - whether it was just with Mikey in his apartment, Sloppy Joseph in his kitchen, his fellow lunch servers at a cafe, or even the entire Hamato-Jitsu clan in their home or in a restaurant like the one they were currently in.

Back in his castle, Draxum would almost always eat alone, seeing the act as more one of necessity than one of leisure. After all, he’d had several years of lab experiments and research to recover, he couldn’t go wasting it on going out to eat or hosting dinner parties (not that he would have enjoyed those anyway).

But even so, he couldn’t really deny that eating with his creations - his family - wasn’t as aggravating or as annoying as he might have once thought. It was just as Michelangelo had promised: it was comfortable.

Unfortunately, comfort couldn’t last forever. While it was still considered early - the black clock hanging above the front counter read 5:07 AM - the sun was getting higher with each passing minute, and the occasion human began coming into the diner to get a quick bite to eat. So, not wanting to risk attracting the wrong type of attention, the group decided to get going while things were still peaceful and the diner was still fairly empty.

Draxum scowled a little to himself as he fished around his human wallet. “How much was the omelette again? Ugh, whatever-” he pulled out a $20 bill- “This should be sufficient, yes?” He was pretty sure it was, at least.

Really, he didn’t know why humans put so much value into monetary bills. Yes, yokai used them too, but they relied on various types of metal coins and unicorns even more, which really was the more logical currency system when you really thought about-

He noticed the family looking at him now, their expressions ranging from surprised and confused to slightly exasperated. “...What?”

“...Barry, did you really think we’d make you go out to eat and then make you pay for it without even asking if you can afford it?” April asked.

Draxum didn’t answer, though was clearly a bit embarrassed about his assumption if the scowl now back on his face was any indication. “Y-Yes, well… Since I have a human job, I clearly don’t need anyone to-”

“Never said you did,” Mikey told him, the boy’s smile one of light amusement and warmth rather than pity. Really, he should have expected this level of generosity from the turtle at this point. “Just consider it a treat from the fam, okay?”

“Althoooough, if you’d really like to pay for something, you can leave the tip,” Splinter added, “About five to seven dollars should suffice.”

“...Very well,” Draxum mumbled, replacing the $20 bill with a $10 one and placing it on the table amongst the dirty dishes and glasses.

Splinter joined them on the walk back to Draxum and April’s apartments, though he claimed he was only doing so because that was where the Turtle Tank was parked. Still, the rat-man kept any snide remarks to a minimum and Draxum offered him the same courtesy.

It was evident that any tension left between them had cooled down to a light simmer and keeping the atmosphere within their group - their family - peaceful, as though Draxum had always been meant to be an addition rather than an intruder. It was just as their youngest had tried to claim when he first introduced Draxum to the rest of his family, and what he had wished for during their day trip underground a couple weeks ago...

Again, the former baron couldn’t help but be a bit surprised at how it all worked out (he really would have to look into the uncanny intuition Michelangelo seemed to have) but didn’t necessarily disapprove of the results. ‘Honestly, that’s just as much of a surprise in itself,’ Draxum thought, slightly amused.

“So,” Mikey began, nudging his creator a little as their group turned onto another street, all of them making sure to stick to the sides and shadows of buildings, even if there was still only a little sunlight, “Would you maybe wanna do this again? Maybe in like a month or two? We could even do it on a weekend so you wouldn’t have to rush off to work afterwards.”

“Perhaps,” Draxum replied coolly, hugging his hoodie a bit closer to himself as a light wind blew past them, “What would be the ‘special occasion’?”

The box turtle shrugged. “Whatever you want it to be, man,” he said, “No rule saying you can’t make up your own special reason for stuff.” Frankly, as far as Mikey was concerned, his family - his whole life - was special enough without even trying, something he would never truly grow tired of. Something that would always be worth acknowledging and celebrating.

“...I suppose I wouldn’t mind it,” Draxum eventually answered, “But give me a day’s notice next time. I still say going out to a meal in your pajamas is ridiculous, even for all of you.”

Mikey just laughed, and while he rolled his eyes at it, Draxum could feel a smile tugging at his lips too.

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, when I was in high school marching band, there was this tradition we'd do during our week-long summer band training camp where at the end of the week, the seniors and other upperclassmen would surprise and 'kidnap' the freshmen (with their parents permission, of course) and take them out to McD's for breakfast before that day's band practice. It was just a fun thing I remembered, and that was basically the inspiration for this fic, lol. So yeah, hope you all enjoyed it! ^v^


End file.
